World number two
Alexander Zverev has revealed what Italy’s
Jannik Sinner told him just before the start of the ceremony after the final of
the
Australian Open. The 27-year-old had a rough day in the grand finale on
Sunday in Melbourne, where he came second best against the reigning world number
one in straight sets with a score of 6-3, 7-6, 6-3.
After the match and before the start of the trophy ceremony,
Sinner was seen saying something to emotional Zverev who was trying to hold up
after losing to arguably the best player in the world. The Hamburg-born star
was asked in the closing ceremony what the reigning world number one was saying
to him in that moment. Zverev revealed that sinner just told him that he is too
good of a player to not lift a Grand Slam title. He also stated that he was emotional
because this was the third time he suffered a defeat in the final of a major
competition.
“Yeah, I mean, I was quite down,” said Zverev. “I was quite
emotional also in that stage. I think he saw that. He said that I will
definitely lift one of those trophies in my career. I'm too good not to. That's
his words. Yeah, it was a little bit of a tough moment for me because I really
went in the final and also the preparation today, I really thought I had a very
good chance because I was feeling good. I was feeling the ball quite well. I
was feeling like I can compete, yeah. So it was just a difficult moment for me.
I mean, now for the third time, seeing somebody lift the trophy, me standing
next to that is difficult because there's nothing more I want than to be able
to hold one of those trophies in my hands.”